Guest Op-Ed by Bill Jahn, City Councilmember from Big Bear Lake and President of the Southern California Association of Governments.

As one of the fastest-growing population and economic centers in
the United States, the Inland Empire is dependent on an efficient and effective
transportation network.

With it, the opportunity for sustainable prosperity and an even
better quality of life for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren is
well within our reach.

Without it, congestion will worsen, the health and well-being of
our communities will suffer, and our efforts to attract more businesses – and
high-quality jobs – will fall short.

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Enter Connect SoCal, the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation
Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy released in draft form by the Southern
California Association of Governments. SCAG, the nation’s largest metropolitan
planning organization serving six counties, 191 cities and nearly 19 million
people, has spent the past four years analyzing data and working with local
communities to develop a regional strategy to improve mobility, meet
air-quality goals, create economic opportunities and enhance quality of life.

Connect SoCal provides a long-term vision for transportation
investments throughout the six-county SCAG region – one of the most robust
growth corridors in the United States. The plan identifies $638.6 billion in transportation
improvements for the six counties over the 25-year period. For the IE, the plan
includes more than 2,000 projects totaling $87.4 billion, among them the
development of an east-west multimodal transportation corridor from Hemet to
Corona/Lake Elsinore ($2.4 billion), the Mid-County Parkway between Interstate
215 and State Route 79 ($1.7 billion), and ExpressLanes along Interstate 10
from Redlands to the Los Angeles County line ($1.2 billion).

Making sure these kinds of projects are funded and built is
critical to the future of our two counties and Southern California as a whole,
connecting communities, creating new business opportunities and ensuring we can
handle the growth that will continue to come our way.

Connect SoCal projects that the Inland Empire will see its
population grow by more than a third over the next quarter century, from about
4.5 million now to more than 6 million by 2045 – far and away the fastest rate
of expansion in the six-county region. During that year, the IE also is
expected to expand its role as an international trade gateway, requiring an
investment in infrastructure that facilitates the movement of both people and
goods.

The return on investment would be significant – reducing commuter
delays, improving health outcomes and generating, for the IE alone, about
94,000 jobs – directly and indirectly – each year. Across Southern California,
the 25-year plan would net a 22.8% reduction in daily miles driven per capita,
more than 360,000 jobs created per year and a return of $1.54 for every $1
spent on transportation improvements.

More than the dollars and cents, however, is a recognition that
the mobility challenges ahead of us are formidable and will require an
integrated web of creative solutions. Connect SoCal sets out to do just that.
We encourage you to become part of the process, by visiting www.connectsocal.org and weighing in on this important plan for our future. With a final
version of the plan expected to be presented to SCAG’s Regional Council for
approval in early 2020, it’s important that you make your voice heard.